New six-storey home on Henrietta Street in London

High-tech haven
Posted by Shelley Emling in Over The TopLeave a Comment

High-tech kitchen
My house has only two phone lines. We own only two TVs, two fans and — horror of horrors — lights we have to flick on with our own two hands.

Perhaps that’s why I’m so dazzled by a new six-storey home on Henrietta Street in London — the largest residential building in Covent Garden — that’s come on the market with Henry & James for £4.75 million — or about $9 million.

This house has everything.

There’s an air purification system, preventing ANY dust settling anywhere in the house. Air comes into the house, is filtered twice and taken out naturally; it is fully automated and in the summer the air is cooled and in the winter it is warmed.

If that weren’t enough, there’s recessed down-lighters which turn on automatically when they sense the human heart beat.


High-tech exteriorSound proofing and wiring throughout the house enables the owner to record anything from any room in the house and to broadcast live — with the quality as good as that on the BBC or CNN.

All six floors have 50mm noise insulation; every window has been constructed with 6.4mm unbreakable glass on the outside and 4mm on the interior — identical in design to the original sash windows.

There’s a dance studio with wall-to-wall mirrors.

The house also has been prewired for 100 phone lines.

Why would anyone need 100 phone lines?

“They’ve all been installed as part of the internal wiring and the owner can choose whether to use the multiple lines or not,” said a spokeswoman for the property. “As a number of rooms are designed as a recording studio, voiceover booth, and media room, this multitude of phone lines ensures there are lines anywhere they are needed.”

The property was previously owned by Victor Gollancz, George Orwell’s first publisher, and is now owned by Wiktor Kubiak, a famous Polish music producer who is currently working with Roger Waters, previously of Pink Floyd.

Indian property bubble

The Origins of Indian Property Market Bubble can be traced to the interest rate reductions made by the NDA Government in the years following 2001. Home Loan Rates fell to multi year lows of 7.5% in early 2004. This prepared the basis for the massive increase in Real Estate Property Prices across India. Low Interest rates triggered huge interest in individuals to borrow to own their own homes and this started increasing demand for quality real estate across India, after 2003.

The Indian Property Market has been sizzling since March 2005, when the current UPA government decided to open FDI in Real Estate. The market has been growing at a dizzying rate of 100%+, what with every NRI who ever laid his hand on the green paper wanting to eat a piece of the pie!

The market is growing rapidly with both established players such as Omaxe, DLF, Parasvnath and new players such as Emgreenlots of builders are fake even FIR has been registered against EMgreen directors and were arrested in chandigarh city.

However many experts feel this is a bubble waiting to burst, and Indian property prices are likely to shed about 20-25% in the next 6-12 months. Some apartments in key Indian Cities such as Mumbai and Delhi are getting as expensive as those in the Advanced Nations.

Listed on the main board of SGX, Chip Eng Seng Corporation Ltd

Listed on the main board of SGX, Chip Eng Seng Corporation Ltd is one of Singapore's leading construction companies. Its scope of business includes construction, property development and property investment. The Group’s construction arm, Chip Eng Seng Contractors (1988) Pte Ltd is a BCA A1 general building contractor that is eligible for public project tenders of unlimited value. Leveraging on its competencies in building methodology and project management, the group diversified into complementary area of property development in 2000. This business diversification strategy was initiated to broaden the Group's business scope and earnings.

The Group’s property development and investment arms are headed by CEL Development Pte Ltd (formerly known as Chip Eng Leong Enterprise Pte Ltd). It has since undertaken several development projects in Singapore and Australia, on its own and with its partners.

In 2006, Chip Eng Seng was awarded Winner for the "Most Transparent Company" under the construction category organised by Securities Investors Association of (Singapore). This is the third time that the Company is recognised for its unwavering commitment to corporate transparency. In 2005 and 2004, the Company was respectively the Runner-Up and Winner in this category.

The Group's construction arm, Chip Eng Seng Contractors (1988) Pte Ltd was also accorded the Housing & Development Board's Quality Award 2005 - a fitting testimony to the professional quality that the Group delivers for its construction undertakings.